The present disclosure relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a method for determining whether an entity attempting to access protected content on a computing device is a human.
A Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart (i.e., “CAPTCHA”) is a challenge-response test utilized by an application program executing on a computer. The purpose of the CAPTCHA is to determine whether an attempt to access protected content, such as a web page, for example, is being made by a human or a “bot” (i.e., a software application that runs automated, repetitive tasks over the Internet).
Historically, conventional CAPTCHAs provide a distorted or warped image containing random alphanumeric text for display to a user, along with instructions to enter the displayed alphanumeric text into a text input box. If a user correctly enters the alphanumeric text on the display, the computer providing the CAPTCHA can safely assume that the user is a human. The idea is based on the assumption that humans are able to visually discern the letters and/or numbers that comprise a distorted image, while an automated “bot” is not.